Recent Posts

Phloem loading through plasmodesmata: a biophysical analysis

Sugars produced in photosynthetically active mesophyll cells move into the phloem through a process known as phloem loading, but not all plants phloem load the same way. Some use a passive process in which sugars move down a concentration gradient into the phloem, but others use active transport processes.…

A Regulator of Calcium Signatures Revealed

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Calcium (Ca2+) is an important cellular second messenger for diverse developmental processes and environmental responses in both plants and animals. Transient increases in cytosolic Ca2+ are activated in plants during a host of environmental and developmental processes, including root growth, stomatal…

Transporter Function and N Use Efficiency

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Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient that plants require in large amounts for growth and development. In industrial countries, high N fertilization enables maximum crop yields, and in the last 50 years, the use of synthetic N fertilizers has increased dramatically to meet food demands. Improving the…

Systemic transport of trans-zeatin and its precursor have differing roles in Arabidopsis sho

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Plant hormones are made in one tissue and usually transported to act in another. One example of this is the transport of cytokinin.  In the root, the precursor trans-zeatin riboside (tZR) is synthesized, then xylem loaded and transported to the shoot. Once at a site of action like the leaf or shoot…

Commentary: Salt Tolerance in Crops: Not Only a Matter of Gene Regulation

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By Elide Formentin Rice (Oryza sativa), the primary source of calories for more than 2 billion people, is the most sensitive of all cereal crops to soil salinity, which affects more than 20% of irrigated arable land (FAO and ITPS, 2015). Rice paddies are mainly located at the delta of rivers, where…

Emission of volatile organic compounds from petunia flowers is facilitated by an ABC transporter

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Plants can emit up to 10% of the carbon they fix as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which function in abiotic stress tolerance, pollinator attraction, signalling between plants, and defending against pathogens and herbivores. It has been an open question whether these small molecules pass directly…

Architecture and permeability of post-cytokinesis plasmodesmata lacking cytoplasmic sleeves ($)

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Plasmodesmata are pores between cells through which viruses, proteins, small RNAs and other molecules can pass. The pores are usually described as being lined with a layer of plasma membrane with a tube of endoplasmic-reticulum membrane through the center. These membranes and associated proteins are…

TAL effector driven induction of a SWEET gene confers susceptibility to bacterial blight of cotton

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Plants undergo photosynthesis in leaves to produce carbohydrates sucrose and starch. The sucrose is transported to other parts of the plants via sugar transporters called SWEET proteins. In addition, certain plant pathogens activate SWEET genes to invade their host. As shown in this paper, during bacterial…

Review: Phosphate scouting by root tips ($)

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Phosphate is both really important (think of its abundance in DNA, RNA, ATP, and membrane lipids), and really difficult to assimilate due to its insolubility and immobility in soil. Phosphate is frequently limiting for growth, meaning that it is widely applied as fertilizer, but global supplies of phosphate…